Marshall Brickman

Last updated
Marshall Brickman
Born (1939-08-25) August 25, 1939 (age 85)
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Spouse
Nina Feinberg
​
​
(after 1978)​
Children2

Marshall Brickman (born August 25, 1939) is an American screenwriter and director, best known for his collaborations with Woody Allen, with whom he shared the 1977 Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for Annie Hall . He was previously the head writer for Johnny Carson, writing scripts for recurring characters such as Carnac the Magnificent. He is also known for playing the banjo with Eric Weissberg in the 1960s, and for a series of comical parodies published in The New Yorker .

Contents

Life and career

Brickman was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to American parents Pauline (née Wolin) and Abram Brickman. [1] His parents were Jewish. [2] [3] [4] After attending the University of Wisconsin–Madison, he became a member of folk act the Tarriers in 1962, recruited by former classmate Eric Weissberg. Following the disbanding of the Tarriers in 1965, Brickman joined the New Journeymen with John Phillips and Michelle Phillips, who later had success with the Mamas & the Papas. He left the New Journeymen to pursue a career as a writer, initially writing for television in the 1960s, including Candid Camera , The Tonight Show , [5] and The Dick Cavett Show . It was during this time that he met Allen, with whom he would collaborate on three completed film screenplays during the 1970s: Sleeper (1973), Annie Hall (1977, which won the Best Original Screenplay Oscar), and Manhattan (1979). In 2015, members of the Writers Guild of America voted Annie Hall as the funniest screenplay ever written. [6]

Brickman directed several of his own scripts in the 1980s, including Simon , Lovesick , and The Manhattan Project , as well as Sister Mary Explains It All , a TV adaptation of the play by Christopher Durang. His script with Allen for Manhattan Murder Mystery (1993) had been put aside some years earlier when the project was later revived. [7]

With partner Rick Elice, he wrote the book for the Broadway musical Jersey Boys , about 1960s rock 'n' roll group The Four Seasons. [3] The two collaborated again in 2009 to write the book for the musical The Addams Family . [8]

Brickman's "Who's Who in the Cast," a parody of a Playbill cast list, was published in the July 26, 1976, issue of The New Yorker, and drew so much attention that it was republished in the special theatre issue of May 31, 1993. Other pieces for The New Yorker include "The Recipes of Chairman Mao" (August 27, 1973) and "The New York Review of Gossip" (May 19, 1975).

Filmography

YearTitleDirectorWriter
1973 Sleeper NoYes
1974Ann in BlueNoYes
1975 The Muppet Show: Sex and Violence NoYes
1977 Annie Hall NoYes
1979 Manhattan NoYes
1980 Simon YesYes
1983 Lovesick YesYes
1986 The Manhattan Project YesYes
1991 For the Boys NoYes
1993 Manhattan Murder Mystery NoYes
1994 Intersection NoYes
2014 Jersey Boys NoYes

Theatre

YearTitleNotesVenue
1975Straws in the WindSketches, BookOff-Broadway [9]
2005 Jersey Boys Book (with Rick Elice). Nominated Best Book of a Musical Tony Award August Wilson Theatre
2010 The Addams Family Book (with Rick Elice) Lunt-Fontanne Theatre

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mel Brooks</span> American actor, comedian, and filmmaker (born 1926)

Melvin James Brooks is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. With a career spanning over seven decades, he is known as a writer and director of a variety of successful broad farces and parodies. A recipient of numerous accolades, he is one of 21 entertainers to win the EGOT, which includes an Emmy Award, a Grammy Award, an Academy Award, and a Tony Award. He received a Kennedy Center Honor in 2009, a Hollywood Walk of Fame star in 2010, the AFI Life Achievement Award in 2013, a British Film Institute Fellowship in 2015, a National Medal of Arts in 2016, a BAFTA Fellowship in 2017, and the Honorary Academy Award in 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Woody Allen</span> American filmmaker, actor, and comedian (born 1935)

Heywood Allen is an American filmmaker, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades. Allen has received many accolades, including the most nominations (16) for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. He has won four Academy Awards, ten BAFTA Awards, two Golden Globe Awards and a Grammy Award, as well as nominations for a Emmy Award and a Tony Award. Allen was awarded an Honorary Golden Lion in 1995, the BAFTA Fellowship in 1997, an Honorary Palme d'Or in 2002, and the Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award in 2014. Two of his films have been inducted into the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wallace Shawn</span> American actor (born 1943)

Wallace Michael Shawn is an American actor, playwright, essayist, and screenwriter. He is known for playing Vizzini in The Princess Bride (1987), Mr. Hall in Clueless (1995), Dr. John Sturgis in Young Sheldon (2018–2024), and voicing Rex in the Toy Story franchise (1995–present).

<i>Annie Hall</i> 1977 film by Woody Allen

Annie Hall is a 1977 American satirical romantic comedy-drama film directed by Woody Allen from a screenplay written by Allen and Marshall Brickman, and produced by Allen's manager, Charles H. Joffe. The film stars Allen as Alvy Singer, who tries to figure out the reasons for the failure of his relationship with the eponymous female lead, played by Diane Keaton in a role written specifically for her.

<i>Manhattan</i> (1979 film) Film by Woody Allen

Manhattan is a 1979 American romantic comedy film directed by Woody Allen and produced by Charles H. Joffe from a screenplay written by Allen and Marshall Brickman. Allen co-stars as a twice-divorced 42-year-old comedy writer who dates a 17-year-old girl but falls in love with his best friend's mistress. Meryl Streep and Anne Byrne also star.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nora Ephron</span> American writer and filmmaker (1941–2012)

Nora Ephron was an American journalist, writer, and filmmaker. She is best known for writing and directing romantic comedy films and received numerous accolades including a British Academy Film Award as well as nominations for three Academy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, a Tony Award and three Writers Guild of America Awards.

<i>Manhattan Murder Mystery</i> 1993 film by Woody Allen

Manhattan Murder Mystery is a 1993 American black comedy mystery film directed by Woody Allen, which he wrote with Marshall Brickman, and starring Allen, Alan Alda, Anjelica Huston, and Diane Keaton. The film centers on a married couple's investigation of the death of their neighbor's wife.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Woody Allen filmography</span> List of films by Woody Allen

Woody Allen has acted in, directed, and written many films starting in the 1960s. His first film was the 1965 comedy What's New Pussycat?, which featured him as both writer and performer. Feeling that his New Yorker humor clashed with director Clive Donner's British sensibility, he decided to direct all future films from his own material. He was unable to prevent other directors from producing films based on previous stage plays of his to which he had already sold the film rights, notably 1972's successful film Play it Again, Sam from the 1969 play of the same title directed by Herbert Ross.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tony Roberts (actor)</span> American actor

Tony Roberts is an American actor. He is known for his roles in six Woody Allen movies—most notably Annie Hall—often playing Allen's best friend.

Anna F. "Ann" Risley is a retired American actress and comedian. She was a cast member of the TV series Saturday Night Live for the 12 episodes of the 1980–1981 season. These 12 broadcasts were the first episodes after producer Lorne Michaels left the show.

The 45th New York Film Critics Circle Awards honored the best filmmaking of 1979. The winners were announced on 19 December 1979 and the awards were given on 1 February 1980.

Paul Rudnick is an American writer. His plays have been produced both on and off Broadway and around the world. He is also known for having written the screenplays for several movies, including Sister Act, Addams Family Values, Jeffrey, and In & Out.

Eric Weissberg was an American singer, banjo player, and multi-instrumentalist, whose most commercially successful recording was his banjo solo in "Dueling Banjos", featured as the theme of the film Deliverance (1972) and released as a single that reached number 2 in the United States and Canada in 1973.

The Tarriers were an American vocal group, specializing in folk music and folk-flavored popular music. Named after the folk song "Drill, Ye Tarriers, Drill", the group had two hit songs during 1956-57: "Cindy, Oh Cindy" and "The Banana Boat Song." The two singles became US Top Ten hits and peaked at No. 26 and No. 15 respectively in the UK Singles Chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Father Yod</span> American esoteric spiritual leader and restaurateur (1922–1975)

Father Yod, or YaHoWha, born James Edward Baker, was an American new religious movement founder and owner of one of the country's first health food restaurants, on Sunset Strip in Los Angeles. He founded a spiritual commune in the Hollywood Hills known as the Source Family. The Source Family was heavily influenced by the teachings of Yogi Bhajan and the astrological age of Aquarius. The Family practiced communal living in Southern California and later in Hawaii. He was also the frontman of the commune's experimental psychedelic rock band, Ya Ho Wha 13.

Rick Elice is a writer and former stage actor.

The 43rd New York Film Critics Circle Awards, 29 January 1978, honored the best filmmaking of 1977.

Douglas Geoffrey McGrath was an American screenwriter, film director, and actor. He received various accolades, including nominations for an Academy Award, BAFTA Award, Tony Award, and Primetime Emmy Award.

Fern Buchner was an American make-up artist and a frequent collaborator of director Woody Allen, with whom she worked on nearly two dozen films, including Annie Hall, Manhattan, and Hannah and Her Sisters. In addition to Allen, Buchner worked with many other notable directors during her career, including Bob Fosse, Warren Beatty (Reds), Alan Alda, and John Huston. She was also known for her work on films such as Wall Street (1987), Addams Family Values (1993), and The Last Days of Disco (1998).

References

  1. ↑ "Marshall Brickman Biography (1941-)". Film Reference. 1941-08-25. Retrieved 2013-05-31.
  2. ↑ Jonas, Gerald (1986-06-15). "Marshall Brickman Humanizes The Nuclear Arms Race". The New York Times . Retrieved 2013-05-31.
  3. 1 2 dmichaels (June 14, 2013). "A 'Boys' for All Seasons". Jewish Exponent . Archived from the original on March 23, 2018. Retrieved December 26, 2019.
  4. ↑ Klickstein, Mathew (September 14, 2016). "The Jewish 'Jersey Boys'". Baltimore Jewish Times . Retrieved September 15, 2016.
  5. ↑ Sacks, Mike (July 8, 2009). And Here's The Kicker: Conversations with 21 Top Humor Writers. Writers Digest. ISBN   978-1582975054.
  6. ↑ McNary, Dave (November 11, 2015). "'Annie Hall' Named Funniest Screenplay by WGA Members". Variety . Archived from the original on December 22, 2017. Retrieved December 9, 2017.
  7. ↑ Dowd, Maureen (August 15, 1993). "Diane and Woody, Still a Fun Couple". The New York Times . Retrieved 2011-10-28.
  8. ↑ Riedel, Michael (January 30, 2009). "Up & Addams". New York Post . Archived from the original on April 17, 2009. Retrieved December 26, 2019.
  9. ↑ "Marshall Brickman Theatre Credits, News, Bio and Photos". www.broadwayworld.com.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.